GRAMBLING, La. (KTVE/KARD) — During a meeting of the Grambling City Council on Thursday, January 6, City Attorney Pamela Breedlove presented four of the five members of the council with a letter advising of possible fines and punishments due to failure to vote on the 2022 budget with no explanation.

In the letter to City Council members, Breedlove states “As the City Attorney, it is my obligation to advise both branches of the City government regarding the budget process and dire consequences of the failure to adopt a budget as required by law.”

When speaking on the topic to KTVE/KARD, Mayor Jones stated “We have given them 4 opportunities to pass the budget, and each time there have not been any comments.”

Jones then continued, “We don’t know why they don’t want to pass the budget. The attorney had to send them a letter letting them know that if they did not pass the budget, the state law says that they could be fined up to $5,000 each and/or prison time because it’s a criminal offense. She wanted them to know the seriousness of the matter.”

Mayor Jones also clarified that the budget not being passed in a timely fashion can have negative repercussions. “The city would have to operate with only 50 percent of the budget and there are other things that the city may not benefit from. For example, we have grants that we have applied for and a grant could possibly not be given to us if we have not passed the 2022 budget.”

We have not received a statement from council members regarding the reasons why the budget has not been passed, however, we will keep this story updated as more information becomes available.